Archive for September, 2009

Merrick & Company is a 500-person full-service engineering, architecture, design-build, surveying, and geospatial solutions firm. Approaching its 55th year in business, the firm is a consistent presence among Engineering News-Record’s 500 Top Design Firms (147th in 2009). In fiscal year 2009 (ending March 31, 2009), its net revenue topped $100 million, reflecting a 20% year-over-year growth.

In an economic climate in which A/E firms are cutting staff and losing market share, Merrick has added nearly 150 people in the past 18 months with 25 more positions currently advertised. In sharing his thoughts about the company’s success and his 30-year affiliation with AEBL, Merrick Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer David Sprenkle says, “We refuse to participate in the recession.”

For more about this member of the Association of A/E Business Leaders, go to www.aebl.org.

“Selection Success!” by Lori Stanley and Hilari Weinstein, is a thorough primer on the science and art of winning a qualifications-based selection (QBS) process. As with many of the “how-to” books you’ll find in our industry, the book offers its highest value to the novice, walking the reader through the fundamentals of submitting a statement of qualifications (SOQ), preparing and delivering a presentation, and shining in the interview. Yet, it also provides sparks of ideas and inspiration for even AEC firm veterans.

The authors, as expected, are industry veterans themselves. Stanley spent nearly two decades in the contracts administration section for the City of Phoenix prior to beginning her own consulting company, Selection Solutions Consulting. Weinstein, the principal of High Impact Consulting, is a speaking and presentation coach who writes for Southwest Construction magazine and serves on the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Leadership in Engineering Administration Program.

Writing in “Selection Success!” is crisp, clean and to the point. The authors also provide a useful notes section at the end of each chapter.

The book delivers solid advice on the go/no-go process…in particular, discouraging firms from submitting when they aren’t qualified to do so. It also offers excellent recommendations on how to develop a winning SOQ. A highlight in this section is the suggestion to use matrices to illustrate qualifications, both project and personnel, in the SOQ text.

A few things that may have added to the value in these areas — a more in-depth look at how different industry firms arrive at go/no-go decisions and a discussion of the distinction between requests for qualifications and requests for proposals.

The chapters on visual aids, rehearsing and presentation delivery are the sweet spot of “Selection Success!” In these three chapters, the authors’ true expertise comes out. Stanley and Weinstein impart concrete tips, in rapid fire, that range from the simple things we know but often forget to time-tested secrets of the speaking/presenting trade (e.g., control the audience’s gaze, keep an open stance).

I also like the way the book spends considerable time discussing the need to rehearse for presentations, debunking the usual excuses that team members consistently employ — excuses many of us have used.

A personal presentation pet peeve that isn’t addressed head-on in “Selection Success!” is the tendency of firms to rely on technological tools over strong content in presentations. I’m reminded of a recent municipal project in which the owner brought in all six applicants to present. The winning firm was the only one that didn’t use PowerPoint slides.

But that is nitpicking. “Selection Success!” should be in the libraries of most AEC firms, bottom line. You can find it on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Published by Mill City Press, it is also available at www.selectionsuccess.com and lists for $44.95.